Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou welcomes challenge of facing South Africa’s unstoppable forward pack

There are few, if any, challenges greater in Test rugby than coming face-to-face with South Africa’s forward pack — but Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou is relishing the opportunity for his side’s emerging tight eight unit.

It comes as Western Force vice captain and back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny has added some bulk to the Australian squad after answering a late call-up in lieu of the injured Charlie Cale.

The back-to-back world champion Springboks’ formidable forwards will present a daunting prospect at both set-pieces and in open play for Australia in the pairs’ clash at Optus Stadium on Sunday.

It is a case of pick your poison when it comes to facing South Africa’s forwards: they can batter and bludgeon teams up the middle of the field with their powerful back-rowers’ ability to drive through contact and provide pressure at the breakdown.

And then come set-piece time, they can overwhelm opponents in the scrum or aggressively challenge and pilfer at line-outs.

But experienced loosehead prop Tupou said it was a good chance for his side to see how they stacked up against the gold standard in rugby, particularly at set-pieces.

“We’re excited. As front-rowers, we’ve been working hard. We know what’s coming,” he said.

“We all know they’re the best in the world on set-piece, on scrum, so I think this week it’s a good challenge for us to to test ourselves and see where we are as a group.

“It’s a bit different coming against the Springboks. Ox (Nche) is such a good scrummager, so strong. If it’s me or Allan (Alaalatoa) or Zane (Nonggorr), whoever’s our tighthead has to be at their best because if you don’t, you know what’s going to happen.”

A year out from the World Cup, South Africa flexed their muscles in their recent 3-1 series win over New Zealand, but Tupou said they were not focusing too much on their opponents’ recent games.

“I’m not really worried about what the All Blacks did in those games. I’m just worried about we’re going to do this week,” he said.

“We know what Springboks can do on the scrum, we’ve been working hard on that, and looking forward to the game.”

Wallabies assistant and former Force forward coach Tom Donnelly said even if the Springboks rotated players after a bruising, cross-continental series against the All Blacks, their excellent depth meant they would still face one of the best packs in the world.

“It’s probably the level and intensity that’s going to get us (close) to something we’re probably going to experience at the World Cup next year,” he said.

“We’ve seen the level of intensity in the Test matches against the All Blacks in the last four games, that never sort of relenting pressure that’s going to come with playing the world champions.

“Once they name their team, a lot of their their tactics probably won’t change. We know the scrum’s going to be a big part of the game.

“We know they’re going to maul, so no matter who they really pick, they’ve got two or three packs that are very class.

“It’s a matter of focusing on ourselves. We know we need to do to front up and go out there with an attacking mindset against them.”

Donnelly said the loss of Super Rugby breakout star Cale was mitigated by the arrival of Champion de Crespigny in camp.

“His (Cale’s) speed in the air, his aerial skills are a real strength of his. We’ll lose a little bit of that, but at the same time, De Crepigny is pretty similar player, very good aerial skills as well, and pretty physical,” he said.

Tupou has spent the past year in France with Racing 92, where set-piece and forward prowess is king — but the 148kg prop admitted it had not all been smooth sailing.

“The first few months in France, I struggled. I thought I was going to go there and things will happen for me real quick, and it wasn’t,” he said.

“Things are different there, the way they scrum, the way they set up, so it took me a couple of months to understand how they do things over there. I’m enjoying it.”